LIGHTING the WAY

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We are here and have completed our first day with the orphanage. We were tired yet excited to finally be here. After being awake for nearly three days, we arrived at the orphanage and got a good nights rest.

Today was spent resting and playing with the kids. Tomorrow begins our first day helping run the orphanage. Kevin will teach us all what needs done for a few days and then hand it over for us to run. Our team is up for the challenge! Pics are coming soon!

We are off again! Heather and I are beginning another Xtreme Impact trip to Kampala, Uganda!

We are excited to be working with my good friend Kevin Kalibbala at his orphanage. All that we will be doing is not known entirely yet, but we have a great team to minister with

We covet your prayers and hope to update the blog as much as possible!

Tomorrow January 9th has major implications for the country of Sudan. This country has been on our hearts for a while. Heather has been burdened for these people since high school.

Tomorrow the peace treaty that was signed several years ago will be up and the people in South Sudan will vote whether to break away from the north. The north does not want this to happen for most of the oil is in the south. Civil war is imminent and the future of the country is up in the air.

Despite this turmoil, we see a strategic opportunity. The north, which is mostly Muslim, has been persecuting those in the south. This has caused those in the south to question their Muslim faith. With Sudan being the largest country in Africa and containing the most unreached people groups, the fields are ripe for the harvest. Yet, that harvest is and will be difficult with there being such uncertainty.

Please join with us in praying for this country and the turmoil it is in and the taste of war in the air. It is difficult to know how to pray in this situation, but our prayer is that no matter what happens the country (or countries) would have openings for the gospel to be spread.

Be in prayer for the referendum in Sudan…

For more please read these links:
Josh Hamby’s blog
AIM’s work in Sudan

This week started out really rough for us. We were already exhausted heading into it after a very busy previous weekend. Then we got the news that our World Help Children of the World boys were back in town for a concert, and needed a place to stay. Of course, we jumped at the chance to have our boys staying with us again, but that led to some very long days. We picked up our boys on Tuesday after work, but since I had already made a prior appointment for that evening, we had to rush home so I could make dinner and then rush off to my appointment. Brandon was wonderful and played Legos with the boys while I was gone. The next morning was kind of crazy…perhaps all mornings are crazy when you have two 9-year-old boys? Maybe you moms out there can relate. But we did get to see our boys in concert that night, which is always a blessing. On a side note, if the Children of the World visit any churches close to you, I would highly recommend that you go to their concert….and tell Dan and Ashish that Uncle Brandon and Auntie Heather say hello! 🙂 Thursday night Brandon had the responsibility of watching our boys again, because I had my Apples of Gold group (I’ll post more about that later…it’s a whole story of its own!)….but I came home around 9:45 only to discover that our dog had eaten one of our boys’ shoes….So then I proceeded to make a late-night Walmart run! Unfortunately, it was a flip-flop that had been eaten, and seeing as summer is officially over, Walmart was very low on their stock of flip-flops. After 30 minutes of searching, I finally found a pair that was the correct size and somewhat resembled the eaten shoe. The small success boosted my mood. Friday brought about another crazy morning, and emotional goodbyes as we dropped our boys off for the last time. By the end of a long day at work, we were ready to come home, crash, and do nothing all weekend….but that was not an option for us. We had made a commitment to attend a CrossWorld New Teams retreat all weekend, starting as soon as we got off work on Friday. To be honest, neither of us were really looking forward to this retreat, but we knew that we needed to follow through on our commitment. Little did we know, this retreat was exactly what we needed. The purpose of the retreat was to promote a new idea that the CrossWorld mission agency has developed. One of the biggest challenges on the mission field today is team relationships. You are thrown into a new culture, new surroundings, a new language, a new home, and on top of that you find yourself suddenly relying on a group of people you barely know, and tensions start to run high. But what if you developed a team here in the States? What if you planned your ministry together, starting bonding with your team here, and then went out to face the challenges of a new country together? How much more effective could we be? That was what this weekend was all about. CrossWorld has 3 ministry locations set up, and the majority of the weekend was spent sharing the vision for those 3 groups, and giving us time to interact with potential teammates, as well as with CrossWorld missionaries and mobilizers. We prayerfully considered the 3 locations, and asked the Lord to make us open to joining one of those teams. However, we truly believe that he has another plan for us. And we met another guy there who felt the same way. We spoke with the CrossWorld staff about the possibility of starting a new ministry among an unreached, unengaged people group in Africa…specifically in southern Sudan! My heart is overjoyed at the possibility. Logistically, there is a lot that goes into opening up a new ministry location, but the staff seems very optimistic about it, and a small team has already begun to form. Please be in prayer with us as we await to hear further news from CrossWorld about this opportunity. One thing we really took away from this weekend was that CrossWorld is definitely an agency that we could see ourselves serving with full-time. They truly have an amazing infrastructure and philosophy of missions. We also ask that you would pray for us as we pursue a more committed relationship with the agency, and as we seek to develop a team while we are here. This weekend was nothing but encouraging, and has left us with so many open doors. Pray that we walk through the right one. The future is bright, and we are so excited about the journey along the way.

To put all of our thoughts and lessons learned in Zambia in one post…or even multiple…would take too much time, and may not interest all who would read. Yet to summarize, while the trip was difficult at times we both learned a great deal and this trip helped us shape our future ministry as well.

Perhaps the greatest lesson learned would be the importance of working with the right mission board and co-workers. This presented the greatest challenge while we were ministering in Zambia. Before this trip we couldn’t understand some in our circles (our church being one) taking such a harsh stance on those they partner with. Yet after the work we did and saw, we are so thankful for the stand our church takes in selecting those they work with. For the sake of some who may read this I will not expound more, but would be glad to share with anyone who asks to hear more about this topic. We thank God for the lessons He taught us and the growth we were able to see in us both.

This trip also helped us grow as a married couple. It is a totally different experience going to Africa by yourself compared to leading a team. We learned how to work well with each other and how our strengths and weaknesses complement each other greatly. God has definitely brought us together to be a great team He can use.

Please be in prayer as we return to our “normal” lives here. Despite the difficulties, coming back and leaving Africa was hard to say the least. Our hearts are still there and we desire to return now greater than ever. We may have the possibility to return to Africa next year with Xtreme Impact. God is working that out now. We thank you for those who have prayed and we will be getting another update letter out soon!

60 hours on a bus, two weeks of ministry, five days in the bush, lots of flexibility, and lots of water falling off a cliff…we are back now from a great and challenging trip.

The beginning of this week we got to do some sightseeing at one of the seven natural wonders of the world: Victoria Falls. It was a great experience, yet I doubt worth 60 hrs in a bus.

We are currently waiting in in the DC airport ready to drive back to Liberty. Overall the trip greatly challenged Heather and I in many ways. Once we get back, debrief, and settle back into out routine I will write more in depth on our thoughts and feelings. Thank you all for your prayers and support, still more to come!!

We made it! Five days of living in the bush, boiling our water, using a hole as a bathroom, and lack of showering has been conquered by our team.

For these five days we camped in tents and roughed it while daily going into the nearby villages to evangelize and build relationships with the people. There were many struggles and presuppositions we had to overcome, yet it was apparent the team was building confidence as the days went on. Several made professions of faith and we made many good contacts for the missionaries here to come back and build a church to counter the false teachings others has been spreading in this area for years.

Each night we held a service around the campfire, with testimonies, Bible stories, and dramas. Then today we held a church service in the morning. The team is doing so well and I can’t say enough good things about them.

Tonight we begin traveling back to Livingstone and then to Victoria falls and a little R and R before we fly back on Wednesday. Thank you for all your prayers and continue to pray as we finish out the trip well!!

Just to give you a update: the team is doing great! Heather and I could not have asked for a better team. It has made the ministry go so much smoother. On Saturday we began ministering here in Mongu. The guys played soccer at a high school while the girls ministered to the women at Hope Church. The guys had many opportunities to witness and the girls pampered the women with nail polish, songs, and drama. Yesterday was church, and the team rotated performing our skit and working in childrens church during the two services. During these times as well as our meetings with the youth on Saturday and the young adults on Sunday, the students have given powerful testimonies and have been ready to speak at a moments notice. They are truly letting God use them and get them out of their comfort zone.

Today we are working in the village of hope with the orphan kids (I hope to have a video of the kids teaching us a song later). Tomorrow we leave for the village where we will help plant a church. We are all excited and honored to have this opportunity. More updates and pictures to come!!!

We arrived in western Zambia, Mongu to be exact, last night late. After a 30 plus hour bus ride we were and are pretty tired. Much has happened that was not expected and God has shown Himself strong, watching over us the entire way. I would like to say that our team has been exceptional. During our bus ride not a single complaint was heard. God has blesses us with a great team and has made everything so much easier.

Continue to pray for us as we begin ministry tomorrow. More updates and pictures to come!!!